We Are Eternal
by Forgotten-Fool
Summary: Gods aren't something you consider running into when applying for a school. Yang should have known Marchand would go there. After all, he is her boss. Now if only they could find time to talk alone. What kind of name is Jaune Arc anyway?
1. Prologue

Long ago, before the age of man, there were two brothers. They were both powerful and could shape the world in ways that could only be described as godlike. They were said to have abandoned Remnant after creating Humanity, Faunus, and Dust.

This is false.

Though they did take their hands away from Remnant, their creation, to let it live out on its own, from time to time, they would create what humans would call their children.

The brothers called them The Aeterni.

The two made eight in total and were given different things to control, to be gods of.

The first was Aphrodite, Goddess of Beauty, Love, and pleasure. She was created originally as an attempt to create true beauty by Calem, God of Creation, as a statue. True beauty as a point in time forever. Damos, God of Destruction, disagreed that this was the state of true beauty. He believed that true beauty must end to give it meaning. He asserted this by giving her life, ending the instant she was stuck in.

Second was Xìngzhì, Goddess of Nature. She was created to watch over Remnant's wilderness, to watch over it's beauty, no matter it's phases. Story says that the Red of Forever fall was due to infighting in the Aeterni. She was hurt and bled on the now supernal grounds.

There are many other Aetrerni.

The God of Choice and mischief. Marchand. He has been known to take many forms. The forms are chosen on a whim, and he sticks with them for some time.

Change is coming in the land of mortals. Who best to watch than the god of mischief?

Now if only he could find a name for this body he chose...

How about...

 _Jaune Arc._

 ** _~~~~~~~~~Line~~~~~~~~_**

Edited/Beta Read by ThatAnorexicTree

Many thanks to her as without her, this likely would still be just an idea, and it wouldn't be as good. There would be errors I wouldn't find and plot lines I would miss.

With that...

Continue onwards with the story!


	2. Chapter 1: A Blonde Walks Into A Bar

Inside a nightclub known simply as "The Club" in Vale, sat a god. He wasn't the usual depiction of a muscle bound man with a beard and disgustingly greasy hair. He'd gleefully chosen the most unassuming form he could. With a mop of unkempt blonde hair, innocent blue eyes and a relatively scrawny physique when compared to the body builder like standard had been set by today's huntsmen. Always training the body and never the mind, despicable in his eyes. He put so much effort into giving them imagination and they starve it? Leaning against the table was a cane made out of wood that twisted and at the head of the cane sat a small glass ball. The god swirled his drink as he tried to contain his excitement, the humans of this age certainly don't disappoint. A grin came across his face as he watched as a young girl sporting shiny golden hair and a pair of tiny shorts punch her way through an army of thugs. She barely broke a sweat as her fist sent the largest thugs straight through the front doors. She seemed pleased with herself as she started towards the exit, her business seemingly finished. Her stride stopped however when she heard his obnoxiously loud clapping.

"What, you want some too?!" Before he could get out a response, she'd already spun on her heel and raised her fists, ready to fight.

Oh, he liked this one.

"Relax, I only wish to chat..." He said, raising his hands in mock surrender, sly grin on his face. "Now, sit, please. I'm sure you'll find a chair somewhere." He said as he started looking around, only moving his head as he half heartedly searched for a chair. The blonde grabbed a chair and put it on the other side of the table and sat down in it cautiously. "Now... What's a pretty thing like you doing in a grown up place like this?"

Her voice took on a mildly condescending but flirtatious tone as she spoke her next words, clearly trying to make him falter.. "Is that your idea of a pickup line? I bet every girl in Remnant's heard you say those words..."

"Not just the girls..." He said nonchalantly, taking a sip of his drink as he projected one of his more explicit encounters in sexuality into her imagination. He grinned as it got his desired effect as a slight pink tinge grew in her face as her eyes widened, her effort to keep composure wearing thin.

A scowl gre on her face as she shook her head clear from such vulgar thoughts. "What did you want anyway?" Oh dear. Her patience seems to be running thinner than he'd intended to.

"I'm curious who you were looking for." He said. "I mean, they must've done something wrong. I'd like to know if I could be of any assistance." He smiled innocently, though both of them knew it far from represented his true self.

After a few moments, she dug into her pockets, pulling out a picture of a woman with red eyes and hair quite similar to the blonde girl, ony far darker. "As black as sin, one might say..." he murmured, a fond smile on his face. "Raven Branwen... Oh the times we had..."

The girl recoiled, her features softening and her shoulders slumping dramatically. Of all the men she could've asked, it had to be this one who had the answers she needed.

His heartfelt and wholesome looking smile and soft eyes changed to a perverted looking smile as he gazed reminiscently skywards. "Such a freak she was... and i thought I could be weird in the sheets, you know? I didn't even know you could do that with a swor-"

"Please don't." The blonde said, wincing in disgust at the thought of her mother... This man was her only chance... But damn, he was a scumbag.

"So you're Yang?" The man asked. "Yang Xiao-Long?"

"She talked about me?" She said, a little hope in her voice. His grin fell.

"I asked if she had family. She asked if it mattered. And it does to me." He said. The two were silent in the sad aura before he gained a smile. "So, I know where Raven is."

"Where?" Yang asked, wanting to get this over with.

"Now hold on there bucko, whenever I have information, it's always given out for a price." He said. Yang pulled out 100 lien, the money mortals use. He frowned. "Not that kind of price." He said. "But let's talk more away from prying eyes." He said before snapping his fingers. And just like that. Them, The chairs, and the table were all about five thousand feet in the sky. "Bett-"

"AAAGGHH!" Screamed Yang as she held onto the chair for dear life. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

"Right." He said. "You're fine, just stay seated." Yang nodded. "My name is Marchand, but you should call me M or Jaune Arc, that one is the name of this body." He stated before shaking his head quickly. "Anyway, I'm willing to give you information on Raven if you do something for me."

"D-Do Wh-What?" Yang asked, her voice trembling as her brain tried to process her current altitude.

"I want you to be my, quote unquote, muscle." Yang froze, she opened her eyes to give a look to Marchand.

"What?" She deadpanned. Marchand started repeating himself when Yang went "Nono no, i heard what you said, I'm just confused. Why do you need muscle?" She asked, still gripping onto the seat.

"Well, I can't personally go after everyone who goes back on one of my deals." MArchand said.

"I'm going to be a huntress, not a thug." Yang said, her eyes firm. "I'm not gonna shake addicts down for money."

"I wouldn't ask you too." Marchand said. "Despite my..." He paused, gesturing to the view around them. "Abilities," He said, settling on a word. "People have still found ways to keep me from them. You could bring them to me. But you would have to sign this." He said, sliding a manilla folder across the table. Yang's chair slid in closer, eliciting a yelp of surprise and fear of falling. Once Yang calmed down she grabbed the folder and opened it. In it was a single paper with text and at the bottom was a line in which there was a bold line to sign on. She looked up at him for a moment before looking back to the paper. A couple moments of silence passed before Yang uttered a response.

"Crap..." She mumbled before looking back up at Marchan. "Got a pen?" She asked. He smirked at that. He pulled out a pen and pushed it over to her. She grabbed it and signed her name, " _Yang Xiao-Long_ ". As she wrote, she felt a light piercing in her palm. She kept writing and once she put down the pen she noticed in her palm was a small cut which healed swiftly after. She looked at her signature and saw the slick red seeping into the paper.

"Great." Marchand said, causing Yang to look up at his smile. He took the folder spun it in his fingers and it disappeared into nothing as if it never existed. "Now you work for a God." He said with a smile.

"... What?" Yang asked. "You're a go- AGH!" She exclaimed in pain as a burning came from the back of her hand. Through pained eyes, she saw as her backhand gained a red hot glow in clean shape of a pentagram with two arcs, one larger than the other, over the space between the top and right point. It soon cooled into a black discoloration. "A tattoo..." Yang gasped as she recovered. "I got a tattoo... I'm working as muscle for some shady god..." She muttered as Marchand let out a "Hey!" in defense. "Oh damn it, my dad's gonna kill me!" She said grabbing her head in shock.

"It'll be alright." The god said. "You don't have to tell him." He said before continuing. "You can't actually." Yang's eyes widened.

"Was that in the fine print?!"

"What? No. People would think you're crazy." Marchand said, sly grin on his face, enjoying her distress.

"And the tattoo?" She said rubbing her hand as she asked, though her voice suggested she didn't believe he'd help.

Rude.

"Good luck explaining that." The god said with a smirk. He snapped his fingers once more and once again they were in the club with a horrid name; _The Club_. Yang jumped once more and glared at the god. He gave a wide, honest smile back. "Be seeing you!" He said with a wink and snapped his fingers. Outside, the crack of thunder accentuated it. Yang, oh so very slightly, flinched at the snap. She saw however, that he was gone after she realized she wasn't in the sky again.

A high pitched voice called out.

"Yaaa-

 ** _~~~~~~Line~~~~~~_**

-ang." Yang's father said sternly, his arms crossed of his chest. Her sister Ruby had been sent to her room so the two could talk. The second Yang entered, he knew about the tattoo. It's like he could smell it. "You got a tattoo?" He asked, though, it was phrased like a statement.

Yang knew she couldn't lie to her father. He'd been there all her life. He knew how she lied. He knew all her tells, places to push for the truth...

But that didn't mean she couldn't try right?

"..No?" She tried to say, though it ended up more as a Question. Her father sighed in response.

"I'm disappointed that you'd lie to me," Her father said. Not good. That's when something surprised the teenage girl.

He hugged her. "But you have a tattoo! You're just like your dad! Yes!" Her dad finished. Yang could hear his smile. It was enough to make her smile.

"Yeah," She wrapped her arms around him. "Yeah, I am."

 ** _~~~~~~Line~~~~~~_**

 _Edited/Beta Read by ThatAnorexicTree_


	3. Chapter 2: Vomit Boy

Yang stood on the bullhead to Beacon, next to her sister, Ruby. Her sister had been given a chance to come to Beacon because she stopped a robbery by famous criminal, Roman Torchwick. Though she was excited, Yang was also a little annoyed with this. She would've much rather stopped a robbery than take that test.

She looked down towards her gloved hand, the same one that had the tattoo. She hadn't heard from Marchand since 2 weeks ago. It could've been a dream, but then, how'd she get the tattoo? The fact that she didn't know where the... _god_... was uneased her.

Little did she know, he was on the same ship. He was about 13 feet away from her in the loud bull head. At first, the bull head had made him a little unpleasant, but that problem was fixed within a few seconds, with him getting rid of the body's Gastrointestinal system. Seriously, why did he even put that in the vessel, his body just returns the matter to the earth and the energy to the sky. It'd just be there, useless. And why did they make the aircraft so bulky? It's like they've no sense of style! Anyway, he looked to the man next to him, a large man with short ginger hair who had taken the spot from a Faunus. How daring of the man, to steal from his better. The faunus was kind enough to let it slide, but Marchand wasn't. Marchand waved his fingers in a circle and the man's stomach churned, suddenly unpleased with the ship. The man stumbled over towards the trash can desperately, a hand over his mouth. With a smile, the god twirled his fingers and the mans stomach churned once more and he couldn't contain it. Vomit spilled out of his mouth.

Directly on Yang's shoes.

Yang and her sister Ruby yelled out in disgust. Both disgusted at the action, with Yang's red eyes likely being a sign that she was angry. The two left as Yang shook the vomit off her boots, her sister exclaiming "Ew! Ew! Eeeeewwww!" as she did so, the former chasing after the latter.

Marchand smiled to himself, as he leaned back against the wall. With that, he thought back to his past as his thumb fiddled with small wooden hands grasping the glass ball of his cane. The meeting with Yang reminded him of his time with Raven. Of course, he had a female body back then. Times change, as do the people, though usually not in such drastic ways. He remembered their first time seeing each other. She was stressed out with a sudden responsibility, and she, Marchand, that is, was the closest thing to stress relief she had.

His mind wandered once more, this time going back before this body, before Raven, back when he was a celestial being. He was being assigned his godhood. He remembered the long list they had. They didn't wish to make another Aeterni, "too much work," they had said. So they granted more things to be god of onto the others. God of Mischief, Trickery, Choice and Free Will? Oh yes, he was those things, some of his favorites to be honest. But he was also god of many other things as well. He was the god of Thieves, Shadows, Desire... Cats...

He would say he had a natural affinity towards the small beast, but it's more supernatural.

"That's a cool cane." Said a young, energetic voice, shaking him out of his thoughts. He turned to the source of the voice. It was a young girl with, for a female, short orange ginger hair that would go over her ears, if it were not pushed back. She wore a white shirt with a heart shaped hole with in it, revealing some of her cleavage, the stomach of the shirt covered by a metal corset. Her eyes were Turquoise and wide with excitement. He lifted his wooden cane higher so the two could more easily see it.

"Yes, I suppose it is... ' _cool_." He said before turning his gaze back to the girl. "Is that it?" He asked, his voice, containing as much venom as you would expect from an annoyed God. He was reminiscing and this mortal just starts speaking to him out of nowhere?

"Well, I just thought that we could be friends, y'know? Since you have a cool cane and I'm cool, I thought that we'd become great friends. Not that you'd be my best friend, I already have one, his name's Ren. He's got a cool backwards name where the last name goes first and and the first name goes after that, he's also got cool hair and pink eyes, isn't that cool? It is cool he's the best we've been together for a while, not together together though, we're just great friends you know?" The girl asked. The god look at her with a quirked brow.

"Right..." He started before looking around for this friend of hers to take her away. Not finding the man he looked back at the girl, smiling as if she couldn't tell he didn't want to talk to her. That's when an idea came to mind, this would be an excellent time to start gaining information. "So, you want us to be friends?" The girl nodded. "Well, friends ask questions right?" The girl nodded and opened her mouth to start asking questions presumably before he continued. "Well, we're friends then, and so I'm going to ask you a question okay?" The girl nodded eagerly, ready for the question.

"What do you desire most," He started, as the girls smile dropped and she stared into his calming blue eyes. "What is the thing that will satisfy that aching itch of yours?" Within an instant, she felt a wave of calmness wash over her, it was as if Ren was using his semblance, she almost felt like making sure he wasn't actually standing there but she just couldn't bring herself to tear her gaze away from this man's eyes. The deep blue, a colour you'd never expect to be so warm and inviting... she would spill her soul to this man if she knew how. A warm feeling grew in her chest as the answer to his question rose, right to the tip of her tongue, she didn't even make an effort to hold back her answer as she obediently stated "Lie Ren.. I want him to be mine and mine alone... I want us to live in peace..." as if a warm blanket had been lifted from her, as if her thoughts had been muffled and her usual self had flooded back, her face flooded with colour and she began to continue rambling with wide eyes, "Oh my goodness, I just said that out loud, didn't I? Oh gods, good thing Renny isn't here! I can't belie-" She started rambling before the gentle voice of the man who asked question came to her ears.

"Hey, it's okay." He said with a smile of amusement at the silly girl's reaction. "People like to tell me things. Call me Jaune." He said.

"Nora!" The girl said before grasping the hand not on his cane and shaking it, as if forgetting what had just happened. Once she was finished she ran off talking about having to find Ren. He looked at the hand she shook and shook it in the air, as one would when trying to get something disgusting off.

"Mortals..." He muttered. He felt the skuttle of the bullhead docking down, presumably to let them off at Beacon. At first he only wanted to be on so that he could talk to Yang, send her to her first target, but apparently the only way to get to beacon is to be a huntsman or huntress. He was annoyed at that before he saw the opportunity. A bunch of people who are training to be stronger, who better than a God to give them strength they could not find on their own. Usually for his deals, he does not have any need for them at that time. He still gives them deals, just with a Godly IOU.

As the people filtered out, he stayed behind, watching searching for anyone who popped out. None did though. None looked interesting enough to be worth his time. He scowled to himself at this. He'd need to stay here longer to get people of any use to him. He set out of the bullhead to search for more when he heard a loud bang. He turned to the source to see, towards the large tower he assumed Beacon was named for. Fitting, as it was one of the best Huntsman and Huntress schools, a last beacon of hope...

Anyway, he went towards the sound out of curiosity. What was that one mortal saying... Curiosity saved the cat? ... Yes, that sounds correct. When he arrived, he saw a young woman, round 17 or 16, yelling about Dust at a girl in red and black with silv-

Silver eyes!?

A child of Xìngzhì, here?!

The girl in white left, leaving the child of Xìngzhì in a small crater. He walked forward and stood over, his hand out for her to grab to pull herself.

"Need a hand?"


	4. Chapter 3: Short,Sweet,RollsOffTheTongue

Ruby looked up at the man with a kind smile and an outstretched hand.

"Oh!" She yelled out quickly before grabbing it and pulling herself up. "Yeah, sorry I was-"

"You have silver eyes…" The man interrupted., squinting as he looked at her eyes.

"Y-Yeah…" Ruby said, deflating a bit as she did so. The man noticed this and smiled, his eyes returning to their natural state.

"Right! Sorry, it's just… You know what they say. The eyes are the windows to the soul," HE said with a smile before something Ruby thought sounded like "At least I think they still do…" The man continued, "Ah, but where are my manners?" The man said before taking a bow. "The name is Jaune Arc. Short, Sweet, Rolls off the tongue," He looked back up at Ruby. "And ladies love it."

"Do they now?" Ruby joked, a small smile on her face. His head tilted slightly as he conceded that wasn't his best.

"Well, they love other things more." He said with a sly grin. Ruby tilted her head in slight confusion before shaking it away and smiling. "And yours?" He asked. Ruby raised her eyebrows in confusion before widening her eyes in embarrassment.

"Oh, Ruby. Ruby Rose." She said. He smiled. The two began to walk, searching for the auditorium eventually, during a bit of silence which Ruby found awkward, but Jaune found calming, Ruby pulled out her weapon a large red and black scythe, going with her red and black theme. "So, I've got this! Her name's Crescent Rose!" She exclaimed in excitement at the one thing she knew about.

"Ah, a scythe…" He said, a small smile on his face. Xìngzhì loved her irony.

"Do you use that cane as your weapon? Oooh! What can it do, can it change into a gun, a pistolmaybeariflenotsurethoughsinceyouhaven'ttalkedyeti'mtalkingtofastright,improbablyramblingbutijustcantseemtostop-" Ruby said, slowly getting more and more distressed as she went on, before Jaune put his finger to her lips, causing her to stop.

"I do use a cane as my... 'weapon'." He said, answering her first question. "That is all it is though. A cane." He finished as Ruby drooped in sadness. She thought it'd be more cool than that. "But, it is special." He whispered. Her eyes lit up at that.

"What can it do?" She asked, whispering as well in excitement. He smiled at that. Just like Xìngzhì.

"Well," He looked around to make sure no-one watched. "Look." He said, holding the cane up to her eye level. Watching intently, Ruby saw the wooden hands move away from the glass ball, which then raised up about an inch. The hands then shot out multiple forces. One shot lightning to the ball, another ice, another fire, another water, one small leaves twirling, indicating wind, multiple forces of Nature. The cane was gifted by Xìngzhì with their powers. Maybe, he'd be able to help gift Crescent Rose with it too. The ball floated down once more, the wooden hands grasping it.

"That's…" Ruby started her eyes wide. Oh dear. Did he break this one too? Strange, the people seemed more resilient than before. "SO COOL!" Ruby finished, a wide grin on her face. So this one works? Good, for a second, he thought he'd need to get a replacement for Yang. "That was powerful dust! I could feel the power!" She exclaimed.

Dust?

What in bloody hell did she mean by that?

Wait… Did she mean…

Did she mean the Viritutis Specula? The gift of nature in a crystal? The thing making up the very windows of the Golden City?

By this point, Jaune was so rooted in his thoughts he hadn't heard anything Ruby had said. Even if he had heard, he probably wouldn't have been able to get a word in with Ruby's nervousness and excitement powered ramblings. Eventually they had arrived at the auditorium, where Ruby saw Yang.

"See ya, I gotta go talk to my sister." Ruby told Jaune.

"Don't worry," Jaune said, a grin on his face. "I need to talk to your sister as well." He said before walking towards the blonde, a confused Ruby following him. "Well Yang, you've been searching for me." The blonde turned towards him as her eyes went wide.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, careful not to say Marchand in front of Ruby.

"Well, I met your sister here and i have to say, our conversation was simply… ravishing," Marchand teased with a sly grin. Yang, gave a scowl and a false laugh. "Which was right before she exploded." He added. Yang's scowl fell, her anger replaced with confusion.

"Exploded?" Yang asked Ruby. Ruby pouted at her before starting a whole ramble Marchand quickly stopped paying attention to. He gazed across the auditorium and searched for anyone… interesting! He's been at this school yet no one drew his attention. As he gazed, he realized the people had started moving towards an exit. He looked to his left to see Yang, Ruby, and the white haired girl who had previously yelled at Ruby.

"Oh you've kissed and made up? Shame I missed that." He said with a smile. Ignoring the girl in white's rebuttals, Yang's seething anger, and Ruby's stammers, he looked to the girl in white, holding his hand out for the girl to shake. "And what would your name be?" He asked, interrupting the girl.

"What?" The girl seethed. He raised a brow at that.

"Well, What, i've never quite heard that name before." He said with a sly grin. To anyone who hasn't spent the last millenia telling jokes, he knew when someone was stifling a laugh. The girl had all the telltale signs. Pursed lips, slightly widened eyes, hands up near their face to cover any semblance of a smile, the whole nine yards. "Come on, what's your name?" He asked once more, his powers getting to work. His powers waved over her pushing and pushing. His eyes were so calming, so easy to fall into, so… so… NO! Breaking out of his infinitesimal usage of power, she answered.

"Weiss Schnee, heiress of Schnee Dust Corporation." She said with a harumph. Ah, people profiting off a gift from the gods. May give them a word or two of his.

"Well, Weiss, I'm curious, where the bloody hell is everyone going?" He asked. Weiss glared slightly.

"We're going to the ballroom to spend the night and sleep on the floor, like animals…" She said, muttering that last part before walking off.

"Really? I haven't slept on the floor surrounded by mortals since that one time in Vacuo! Though I suppose we won't all be nude this time." He said, his voice with a hint of disappointment. Yang glared at Marchand as Ruby wondered why he'd have been nude, muttering "that doesn't sound comfortable…" Yang sighed.

"Can we just go?"

 ** _~~~~~~~Line~~~~~~~_**

Marchand looked out over the skyline of Vale, the sun having already dipped far below the horizon and the moon was high in sky from a balcony in the ballroom. Nearly a full day, and only one student had seemed promising. He sighed. Perhaps he hasn't found them yet. Perhaps. He looked to his left and, walking towards him on the railing, was a black and white cat. He smiled at it.

"Hello." He said. The cat meowed at him, getting close to him on the railing. Now being closer, he could see the scar over his left eye. "What's your name?" The cat meowed once more. "Alcibiades, ey? Now that's a bit much for conversation. How about Al?" He asked again. Once more the cat meowed. "Alright, Al." He said, a smile on his face. He then saw the collar around his neck.

"May I? He asked, holding his hand out. Al hesitated a moment, before he nodded his cat head. Marchand reached under the cat's head and looked at the tag connected to the collar. "Fluffy?" He asked with a smile. The cat meowed. Marchand nodded, saying "That sounds about right." The cat let out a few noises that could be compared to laughter which slowly faded somberly.

"Bad memories?" Marchand asked. A small meow. "Do you wish to talk about it?" Silence. "Alright. Well, I don't suppose you wish to talk about my problem?" Silence for a moment then an assuring meow.

"Well, I have been searching for a full day for people to make deals with," A questioning meow. "Yes, right. A deal is what I call when they ask for something or i offer something they want and so they give me something in return." An understanding meow. "Yes, exactly like an offering. Well done." He said with a small smile. The cat slightly lowered his head, humbly accepting the praise. "Anyway, there's nobody interesting enough for a deal! They just exist and wander like ants!" He exclaimed, exasperated.

"Well," Meowed Al. "Don't you think you should know these people before you judge them?"

"What do you mean?" Asked the god.

"Well, if they don't seem to pop out, doesn't that mean that you should learn about them get to know them?" The cat meowed. The god was silent for a moment.

"I suppose so." The god said. "Bold words from a cat to their god." He spoke, half teasing, half curiosity.

"Fear can hold you back from helping people. At those moments, I find it better to ignore said fear at those times." Al meowed, stretching all the while.

"I suppose." Marchand said, before scratching the neck of the cat. "Do you wish for me take the collar off?" The god asked. A moment passed in silence, before Al meowed.

"No." Alcibiades sternly meowed, moving away a bit. Marchand nodded and brought his hand back. "I-" The sound of the door to the balcony opening brought Marchand's attention to the door opening. He saw Weiss there, coming out.

"Oh, apologies. I thought there was a cat alone out here." She said, a little sheepish. Marchand looked back to where Al was to see them gone. He frowned slightly.

"Now there is." He said, somberly. Weiss caught on and nodded.

"Sorry. I didn't know." Weiss said, walking towards the balcony railing Marchand started leaning on.

"No. How could you?" Marchand stated, once more watching Vale's skyline, as alight as it always was. The two were in silence. "Tell me, Weiss," He asked turning towards her. "What is it you desire?" He looked straight into her eyes as she looked back

His deep blue eyes seemed to glow with raw power, chaos, intimidation. It was nothing new to the heiress, she'd felt the same force of intimidation from her father many a time.. though, where he was calm, collected, calculating.. this man's eyes were filled with chaos, unpredictability, deep down she felt uneasy, but it was nothing, she could handle it, just another student in the prestigious school that is Beacon. The more she looked at those eyes, radiating a cool defiance, she saw deeper, far deeper than she intended. She cautiously explored his expression, somehow unable to draw her gaze from his eyes for too long. She'd never seen eyes like his. They were warm and inviting, though not with the usual sly intent of achieving control of her fortune. He seemed to genuinely care. She just.. she just couldn't understand why. She knew these feelings were wrong she knew he had to be another scumbag she knew he would leave her for dead the first chance he got but...

Marchand allowed a small smile to play over his features, the opening he'd been waiting for, the crack in her armour. She had hesitated. He slithered into the break in her defences, her eyes glazed over as he pushed further into her mind, making himself comfortable. Pulling apart every defence she tried to throw up, his power was like the ocean, and her mind was a lighthouse. When he tried to push her down with the small waves that would easily wash away houses she would scoff and turn her back. But with his full power? He could tear this poor girl's mind apart over and over again... but that wasn't why he was here. He pushed down, as deep as he could, reaching her deepest desires. A small chuckle escaped his lips as he made a note of how easy she'd been to seduce, once he actually tried. Maybe he could try Ozpin, once he went up to speak to him, if he ever got around to that.

"I… I wish… To not be judged… because of my father… I want to be judged… on my actions… and mine alone…" She said. With that, his power slithered out of her mind, taking the calming warmth away.

Weiss held her head in her hand, trying to process what had just happened. She had only been standing here for a second hadn't she? He'd turned, said an apology and left... hadn't he? Her mind was spinning as she made her way back to where she'd be spending the night.


	5. Chapter 4: Je Suis Désolé

Marchand stood out in the Beacon grounds. It was still midnight. He looked up to the sky, hands put together in front of his face, muttering words, his frustration apparent. He quieted for a moment his hands tightening for a moment before he threw them out and looked to the sky, anger upon his face.

"COME ON DAD!" He screamed. "Listen to me! Please!" He yelled, his voice quivering with desperation. "Seal my soul, or bury my pride, JUST LISTEN! I've nowhere to hide from you, SO I KNOW YOU HEAR ME!" He pants, regaining his breath. "I've faced what i've done. I'm doing my time." He waited in silence for a response, but none seemed to come. "Please, listen, I am the only son!"

"Left." A chill went down Marchand's back as the voice came from behind him. Slowly turning, Marchand saw behind him was his father. Calem, clad in a cool blue suit. "You are the only son left." Marchand was silent for a moment.

"... The people are still dying." Marchand said, not looking to his father's eyes. "They haven't stopped... Please, intervene!"

"No."

"Why!?" Marchand said, eyes wide with anger.

"I promised. Damos did as well. We will not intervene."

"Than why are you here?!" Marchand exclaimed. "Why?!" After a few moments of silence, the God Of Creation spoke.

"Do you think of me so little?" Calem said, a silent pain on his face. "Do you think I care for you so little, what you did would make a difference?" Marchand stilled at that, eyes wide. "I have to go," Calem said, a pain in his voice. "Good luck in your travels." He said turning away from Marchand.

"No, wait!" Marchand reached out, but he was gone, in a blink of his eyes, Calem left. Marchand fell to his knees.

He was alone.

 ** _~~~~~~~~~Line~~~~~~~~~_**

Yang woke up like never before!

With a boot to the head.

"Ow!" Yang said, red eyes as she looked at the boot that belonged to Ruby next to her, likely having bounced off her head. She looked to where it came from to see Ruby with her hands covering her mouth, eyes wide with shock as her body seemed to slightly shake, and Marchand, who was holding the other boot.

"First try. I'm pretty good at this." He said, a sly grin on his face. Yang growled angrily.

"I swear, i'm gonna shove my fist so far down your throat, i'll-!" Yang started before Ruby's other boot hit her in the face, sending the blonde from her upright position to lying down in about half a second.

"Bullseye." Marchand said as Ruby's laughs over flowed from her mouth.

This was gonna be a long day.

 ** _~~~~~~~~~Line~~~~~~~~~_**

"I can't wait for initiation!" Ruby squealed ecstatically. A smile on his face, Marchand ruffled her hair as Ruby pouted before, slapping at his hand, only succeeding in whacking the top of her head. "Anyway, i'll finally get to introduce myself."

"You've had a full day to introduce yourself." Yang said. "I've been trying to get out of that shell of yours for years!" Yang smiled.

"Why would I need to get out of a shell when I have you?" Ruby asked. Yang's eye widened slightly, guiltily.

"Yes, why would she?" Marchand questioned, a wide grin as he watched Yang squirm.

"Well... You need to get to know people. Maybe get on someone else's team?" Yang suggested. Ruby pouted and squinted her eyes at Yang.

"Dear sister, are you implying that you don't want to be on the same team as me?" She questioned.

"No, that's no-"

"I think that's exactly what she's saying." Marchand said, a mischievous smile on his face. Ruby gasped as she started tearing up.

"Really?" Ruby asked with a quavering tone.

"No, I just wanted you to... expand your horizons." Yang said, having trouble finding the words. Ruby's tears started trying as she tilted her in confusion.

"Why would I do that?" Ruby asked. Her sister sighed.

"Well, i'm not always gonna be here. I may have things to do that can't be rescheduled or busy or... " She paused. "The point is, you're gonna need friends. Everyone does." She said, her hands on Ruby's shoulders. "You don't have to have like 20 friends right now... just... y'know?" She asked Ruby who, after a moment, hesitantly nodded. Yang smiled Ruby turned to Marchand.

"Jaune, would you like... to be my friend? Possibly? Maybe? If you want? Eh?" Ruby said, he arm stiffly stretched out into a hand shake. Marchand looked at it for a bit with a small smirk before his smirk widened into a wide smile. He grasped her hand and shook it.

"It would be my pleasure." He said, as Ruby quickly took up a large smile similar to his. She spun around to Yang.

"DID I DO GOOD!?" She exclaimed. Yang laughed and ruffled Ruby's hair.

"Ya sure did kiddo." Yang said with a smile. Marchand turned around seeing Weiss speaking to a woman with red hair, green eyes, and bronze armor. A smile came across his face as he turned back to Yang and her sister.

"Excuse me," He said before he crossed the room towards them. " Hello, Ms. Schnee. Wonderful to see you again." He said with a smile.

"Yes, but as you can see, I'm a bit busy." Weiss said, gesturing towards the girl.

"And who might you be?" He asked holding his hand out. Her eyes widened in surprise. Oh? She didn't expect that? She expected me to know her... She's famous, isn't she? How interesting.

"You're daft, aren't you? That's Py-" Weiss started before, Marchand interrupted.

"Unless she's mute, i'm perfectly sure she can answer for herself." Marchand said to Weiss, before turning back to the red haired woman. "I'm terribly sorry about her, you'd think she were raised in a barn, not an estate." He said with smirk. The girl tried to keep in the chortle that threatened to come out.

She did not succeed, if her laughter was anything to go by. Ignoring the fuming heiress to his right, he continued speaking.

"But a name would be a wonderous thing to have. I need to put a name to the face after all, or do you want me to give you a new one?" He joked with a smile on his lips. The girl smiled at that, finally grasping his hand into a shake.

"Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos." She said.

"Jaune Arc," He said. "Likely the most interesting man you'll meet, at your service." He said, taking a small bow. He looked up to her eyes as a flicker of mischief came to his.

"Pleasure to meet you."

 ** _~~~~~~~~~Line~~~~~~~~~_**

Marchand looked over the cliffside not paying attention to the speech Ozpin was giving. Something about how this will initiation will decide who goes on what team? What does it matter? He was just waiting for a time the professor wouldn't be spouting off words like like a pitching machine with dictionaries instead of balls.

"Any questions?" Ozpin asked. Now's his time.

"Just one." Marchand said. Ozpin opened his mouth when his assistant used her riding crop, kinky, to smack him in the chest. He sighed before looking towards the god.

"What is it?" He said, disappointed his assistant hadn't let whatever he was gonna do happen. Oh well.

"Just a simple one. How long did it take before you came to the conclusion you were cursed by the gods?" Marchand asked with a smirk. Ozpin's eyes widened almost imperceptibly, at least to the god. To anyone else, they wouldn't have seen a difference. Well, they wouldn't have seen a difference because they were too busy gawking at the teen who just said that to the headmaster. Turning to them, he saw them staring wide eyed at him. "Ah, people staring in awe and wonder! As they should be." He said, his smirk never changing. He looked back to Ozpin, who was pulling out his scroll.

"Well, that's rude." The man said, before pressing a button on his scroll, now with a smirk to match the god. Suddenly, the metal plate Marchand was standing on shifted, tossing him into the sky. "Now," Ozpin said, looking to the people looking to Marchand. "Your initiation starts."

Other people started getting launched into the sky as well, to land in the forest.

 ** _~~~~~~~~~Line~~~~~~~~~_**

Well.

Marchand had to admit, that was clever. He shot through the sky thinking about his confrontation. He should have done that alone, he realizes in retrospect. Just the two of them would be so much easier to talk.

Oh well.

There's always next tim-

The feeling of a spear puncturing the collar of his shirt, dragging him along the new trajectory interrupted his thoughts as his mind brought back unwanted memories, bringing back the familiar feelings of war.

In that instant, his celestial consciousness went into panic mode and exploded into a large dome, going above the trees as it expanded wide, going to the cliffs the students were ejected from, quickly swallowing it, preventing outside watch.

Marchand hit a tree, pinned to it. He looked up, expecting to see some leaves and branches, instead seeing a large number of men and women, looking at him. He recognized them all. His eyes wide as he looked at them. They were stood in the Golden City. It was in ruins as the war was waged.

One stood before him. His name was Castigar.

"Hello, how's life treating you," Castigar started, his voice full of cruelty for the killer in front of him. "Brother?" He finished, the word overflowing with venom.


	6. Chapter 5: Familientreffen

Yang was about to land on a Grimm fist first, when a large purple inky wave burst past her and she watched as the Grimm instantly dissolved into nothingness. She quickly turned into a roll instead to save momentum. She rolled across the ground before turning back towards the Grimm, her feet skidding across the ground. It was long gone by then but she had to be sure.

She stood up properly to notice the woods had changed. Gone were the green leaves and light brown bark. Now, the trees were bare, the bark darkened to a dark brown. The trees had seemed to grow taller, far taller than they should have been. The sky, once a nice sunny blue, was now an stormy gray, threatening to drop rain upon her yellow mane, currently tied into her pigtails on either side of her head. She looked behind her. There, in the red wagon, slept Ruby. Good she's still...

"Wait but, she's-" Yang was interrupted with the sound of a growl interrupted her. She turned around to see a large Alpha Beowulf. It was quite larger than her, standing several feet above her. She looked to her small hands, far too weak to defeat the...

Her vision for just a moment changed as her hands shifted from the weak soft hands to slightly larger hands, callused and stronger, with yellow bracers with shotgun shells. They then shifted back before she looked back up at the Grimm.

Her legs were on fire. She could barely stand. How long had she walked? An hour? Two? It felt like so long ago. The Beowulf's claw stretched back, readying for a strike. She shrunk way, bracing for the hit.

It never came. She opened her eyes to see a man, about a foot shorter than the Beowulf. In his hands, blocking the swipe, was a large blade, seemingly more a slab of metal with an edge than a blade. He pushed the Beowulf off before a single swing cut it in half. The man turned to Yang, his face now revealed. His red eyes looked with concern to Ruby, his salt and pepper hair slightly disheveled from searching. His gaze hardened as it turned to Yang herself.

"Do you know what the hell you almost did?" The man's grizzly voice interrogated. "If I weren't here, you'd both be dead." He said. Yang looked to the ground.

"We all know you only wanted to save Ruby." A voice said from behind Yang. She turned to see a woman that looked similar to Yang, but with red eyes and black hair. "If Yang had left her, she'd have been left to die."

"Of course," The man said. "I couldn't just leave her. Yang's weak. Too weak to survive. She might as well die now." The man said to the woman. Yang balled up into the fetal position and put her fists on her ears as she started crying. "Oh god, now it's crying."

"Now, you see why I left?"

"I have half a mind to leave the useless bitch here myself.." The man said. Yang tried desperately to block out the sound as she started sobbing out words.

"Stop stop stop stop stop... Stop..."

The forest stilled and she noticed they had gone quiet. She opened her eyes to see the bleak forest once more. She looked behind her as she walked forward, dragging the red wagon in which Ruby slept.

She had to keep walking.

 ** _~~~~~~~~~Line~~~~~~~~~~_**

"What the fuck?" Marchand said to Castigar, shock apparent in his voice. Castigar gave a crisp and undeniably false smile.

"Indeed. You never were as elegant as the others. I guess that's why they sent you here. To lord over this broken land." He said, mocking him, his own brother.

"Stop it." Marchand spat out quickly. How dare he disrespect him so. They were all like this to the younger ones. No respect, despite their duties and titles.

Gods in name and power only. Not respect.

"What? Are you gonna have another tantrum?" Castigar mocked as Marchand gripped his weapon tight. "Come on, you coward! Speak your mind, as silly as it is!"

"Stop it!" Marchand spat out once more as he scowled at the man in front of him. "I'm being punished enough for my actions!"

"And so you'll be punished more! Like the maggot you are!"

"STOP!" Marchand yelled, thrusting his cane forward. Except his cane was not there. In its place was a sword. A sword he cast out long ago. Crocea Mors. It tore through Castigar's flesh, through his stomach and out the back, sheathing it in glowing crimson. As he realized what he'd done, Marchand tried to release his grasp from the blade. He quickly found himself unable to release it from his hand, try as he might. He pulled the blade out from Castigar. "I'm sorry." Marchand said as he looked his brother in the eyes. "I'm so sorry." He said right before he thrusted the blade into his brother's torso once more. He pulled the blade once more as he went to the Woman behind and to the left of Castigar.

He immediately recognized her as the Goddess of Shadows, Schatten. He remembered her teaching him how to move through shadows, how to be unseen in darkness, he remembered her smiling at him as he hid past multiple gods who were unaware of his presence. He brought his blade back as his other hand gripped her black hair and raised her head up softly, as gently as he possibly could, as she smiled at him, telling him to do what he believed needed to be done.

"I'm so sorry." He said as he brought blade down through her neck, decapitating her cleanly with a rush of glowing crimson. The kind of crimson that stained the soul. He looked at her decapitated head as it was eternally kindly smiling at him. The man next to him scowled at Marchand.

"Heh, sorry..." The man scoffed. "A murderer like you? To think I called you a brother." The man said. Marchand was about to object when a bolt of pain flashed through him, quickly replaced by a surge of strength. Looking back, he saw Castigar's pale corpse, too pale for a corpse at this time. Looking to Schatten, he saw her paling as her essence, her soul, leaked out of her body and rose to a amorphous ball, constantly shifting and swirling in on itself. It was black and inky. Suddenly, it surged forward, slamming into him.

 ** _~~~~~~~~~Line~~~~~~~~~_**

Ruby was running through the forest when the wave of celestial energy hit her. She fell back to the ground with her eyes closed as she groaned. Opening her eyes, she came face to face with Silver eyes.

"Agh!" She yelped as she used her semblance to scurry off to a nearby tree. She looked back to see a woman, clad in what appeared to be a dark green dress made of vine and leaves that went to slightly above her ankles. Necklaces made of herbs and plant were around her neck and around her wrists were bracelets with what appeared to be berries naturally growing from them. Protruding from the forehead was a pair of Antlers. She had long black hair flowing down her shoulders. She was about a foot taller than Ruby, about Yang's height. She seemed taken aback in shock at Ruby's action.

"Oh," The woman said, as she began to ramble. "Did I frighten you? Sorry, i'm not really good at speaking to mo- people and you are a person. It'd be a bit weird if you weren't a person wouldn't it? Just me rambling to an animal? It'd be easier though..." She said all in one breath, looking towards the ground, as Ruby just stared.

"You have silver eyes..." Ruby said, cutting off the rambles. The woman looked up and saw Ruby's eyes.

"So do you..." She said before smiling. "Hold on..." She said before speaking in a language Ruby had never heard before. She was about say something about how she can't understand it when she started being able to tell what she was saying.

"And those who are with the blood of the gods will know their tongue and shall gain strength and features of the gods." The woman spoke in strange yet, familiar tongue.

"Wait, gods?" Ruby asked, confused.

"Yes, you are a child of gods." The woman said with a smile.

"No, my parents are human. My mom is dead! They aren't gods..." Ruby said.

"What are they're names?"

"Wh-what?"

"Your parents. What're they're names?"

Hesitating, Ruby spoke, "My dad's name is Taiyang Xiao Long," She said, the words of her dad's name feeling strange on her tongue. When the woman told her to continue, she hesitantly did. "My mother's name was... is... Summer Rose..." Instantly, saddened recognition came across her face.

"Little Sunshine... That's what i used to call her, your mother." She said as she looked to the floor.

"You knew my mother?" Ruby said, confused. The woman laughed and smiled, looking back to Ruby.

"Yes... She is my daughter after all."

 ** _~~~~~~~~~~~~Line~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

 **Holy cow! Been a while, hasn't it? Well that's mostly because I'm an incompetent trash monster but oh well. Hope you enjoyed this story as much as I have!**

 **P.s. I COMPLETELY FORGOT I DIDNT UPDATE THIS SORRY!**


	7. Chapter 6: The Guilty

**Holy shit this took a while. Sorry. I'll try to update sooner next time! Anyway, enjoy!**

 ** _~~~~~~~~~~~~Line~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

"Wh-What? You're my… grandmother…?" Ruby asked in shock. Nobody had said anything about having any living relatives outside her immediate family. But… silver eyes are so rare… "Why hasn't anyone told me about you?" She asked. The woman smiled once more, this time a more shallow smile as she looked towards the grass.

"Sometimes, family needs to be kept secret…" She said, her voice filled with wistful sarcasm, as if it wasn't her choice in the matter if she could see Ruby. After a pregnant pause, Ruby spoke up once more.

"Wh- What are you doing here?" She said, emphasizing the here as her mind tried to wrap her brain around the reality of the situation. At that question, the woman popped up.

"Yes! Of course!" She said before walking in a direction away from Ruby, gesturing her to follow. "Well, I need to help someone here." She said, as if that explained everything.

"Who?" Ruby asked, as she walked after.

"My brother."

"I have an uncle? Wait, no, a… grand… uncle?"

"Yes."

"But why would they be-"

"He goes to places he shouldn't to help people give into bad decisions."

"Why!?"

"If you asked him, he'd say amusement."

"That's mean."

"That it would, if you believed him."

"What do you mean?"

"He's well known for lying."

"... Why do you think he does it?" Ruby asked. The woman paused for a moment at that, the two walking in silence for just a moment.

"I think… I think he does it to help."

 **~~~~~~Line~~~~~~**

Marchand kept walking. His body moved without his consent forward. Towards another god, sauntering like a beast with his eyes locked on his prey.

"Look at you." The prey said. "Slaughtering innocent people who have nothing to do with the problem."

"I don't want this." Marchand said, as his body kept moving, the sword scraping across the ground.

"Yes, you do. You're a murderer. You're just like Damos. You're just like your father!" The prey spat out. Marchand paused at that, frozen in his tracks.

And then he saw red.

A rush of adrenaline came to him as he lunged forward and slashed his sword down onto his prey. Again and again and again, he cut and slashed. When the red faded, he saw the slashed corpse of his brother, hardly recognizable. Marchand's eyes widened at this display of ferocity. His hands would be shaking if he had any control over them.

Oh, he had no control over these actions. It wasn't him. And even if he were, he was just, right?

Right?

Just in name…

Just in name…

 ** _~~~~~~Line~~~~~~_**

"What do you know about my mother?" Ruby asked as they walked.

"Hmm?" Said the woman as she turned back to Ruby, having been focused on finding her way towards her brother.

"What do you know about my mother, Miss…?" Ruby said, suddenly realizing she never asked for a name.

"Ah, yes! My name is Xìngzhì." She said with a smile as she turned to continue walking towards her brother. "She was wondrous. Whenever I would leave the room, I usually came back to find her talking to a animals. One particular squirrel was Sir Edmund The Third, and was next in line to the crown and would occasionally ask if she would like to be his queen."

"I thought Sir Edmund was just a story!" Ruby said with wide eyes.

"She told you about him?" Xìngzhì asked.

"No, I didn't really know her. She died when I was young. She told my sister Yang though, and Yang would tell me."

"Sunshine bore another child?"

"No, Yang's a half sister my dad was with someone else before he and mom got together." Ruby explained as Xìngzhì nodded.

"I see." She said, a moment passed in silence before she perked back up. "Come on now. Almost there."

 ** _~~~~~~Line~~~~~~_**

Ozpin was still with wide eyes as he stared at what was once his love. His first love.

Salem.

She wasn't like how she was now. She was as she was before she fell into the Dark God's pits. Was this the inky purple wave's doing? Who cares, she was there before his eyes in all her perfect imperfection. Her steel blonde hair, like sand on a beach. Her coral blue eyes, like an infinite ocean of pleasentry. Her smile was… is the sweetest he has ever seen. She smiled at him and reached out her hand. He reached out and his skin… it was his again. He was the man who was cursed by the gods all those years ago.

He was Ozma.

His hand touched hers for but a moment. Then it went to hell.

When their hands touched, they're skin started to change. A ripple of light went up Ozma's arm as they touched and a ripple of inky darkness went up Salem's skin, much slower than his. His skin was changing as the ripple went up him. His second iteration, Jameson was there now. Another ripple, brought his third, Clay. Another ripple, another iteration. Meanwhile, Salem's skin changed from a light peach to a pale white. Her clothes went black. Her eyes were wide with fear as she looked at the cascade of darkness rolling up her arm. Clay went through another reiteration and another and another and another until he was Ozpin once more just as the waves of darkness covered her eyes and changed it from it's peaceful teal to a blood red, surrounded by a black sclera as she glared into his soul.

Her hand still in his, she twisted his arm, forcing him to his knees. As he tried to stand back up, A hand pushed on his shoulder keeping him down. Jameson's wife… Another hand on his other shoulder was Clay's daughter as she also brought his other arm behind his back squeezing it roughly. Two hands went through his and pulled it back as two others came upon his his shoulder, making sure he couldn't escape. As he came back he saw that the people grabbing his hair were none other than Summer Rose and Raven Branwen. Two people he wronged the worst. Beside them were, Qrow Branwen, Raven's Sister and uncle to Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao-Long, and Ozpin's friend, along with Taiyang Xiao-Long. Tai was Yang and Ruby's father and they all had reasons to do this.

He was the reason Raven left Tai and Qrow.

He was the reason Summer is gone.

He's the reason why Tai was a single father.

He's the reason why Qrow started looking for answers at the bottom of a bottle.

He was surrounded by people who rightfully hated him.

They pushed his face back forward a bit so he would look at Salem. She held a blade in her hand put it against his neck as he gave out a shake breath at the coldness of the blade.

He closed his eyes shut, trying to shut it all out.

"Oh silly," Salem's voice rang out to his ears. "You can't run away from them forever."

The blade cut open his throat. Blood spilled onto the grass and his suit.

But his body wouldn't die.

 ** _~~~~~~Line~~~~~~_**

"Almost there," Xìngzhì spoke before looking back to Ruby. "Can you feel it?" She asked, not specifying what "it" was, leaving the question open ended enough that Ruby could mean anything if she said yes. And yet, Ruby could feel it. She could feel the hum in the air. She could smell the scent of ozone and electricity. A storm was coming or was here. But it was slightly off. It was… sweaty...

"Kinda?" Ruby said. "It smells tornado-ey. Like how it smells when a storm is coming. But something's strange about, it smells like Yang after a workout session…" Ruby said, confused as to why there is sweat in the air. After a moment or two, they entered a clearing to find Jaune. He stood there heaving with wide pitch black eyes as he tightly gripped a red and gold spear in his left hand, and a sword in his right. The blade was lit with dark purple fire, as was Jaune himself, covered with dark purple flames. His cane was lying was lying in the grass, useless. Jaune was looking directly at the ground in front of him, and where there stood was a black and white cat with a scar over his left eye. Jaune turned his head towards Ruby and Xìngzhì and scowled.

"Well," He started, his voice as if two people were speaking, Jaune primarily but Just in front of that was another voice, deeper, full of venom. "If it isn't the silver eyed bitch who caused my death."


	8. Chapter 7: Silver Eyes

Ruby gasped loudly. "Jaune! Bad Word!" She scolded as she pouted and pointed at him. Xìngzhì however was more subdued in her shock as she simply had her eyes wide.

"Castigar?" She said with shock covering every syllable.

"Rightly so!"

"Who?" Ruby said in confusion.

"No…" Xìngzhì said, her shoulder's releasing tension. "Just a weak imitation."

"Bold words from the one who allowed this to happen," Castigar said, venom coating his voice. "He listened to you. If you talked about it, he wouldn't have gone to that extreme! Now, you're stuck here! Like the animals!"

"Hey!" Ruby said in offense.

"Marchand, listen!" Xìngzhì said. "Listen to me! You were surprised weren't you? Your mind, for but a moment brought you back, right? Back to The Golden City. Your mind used one of their powers in that instant, right? Usually that'd be fine, but you have true guilt too. You couldn't stop it." She said as she started to walk forward. As she spoke, the black flames seemed to calm, shrink back.

"I…" Castigar started, Jaune's voice becoming more dominant. "I'm me… I'm Castigar…" He said, the other voice overcoming Jaune's, yet still wavering.

"You, Castigar, are a personification of Marchand's guilt. You were imprinted into Marchand's mind when our fathers gave him your powers as punishment… along with a duty to watch over this world, all seven of us did. Marchand, you feel too much to be impartial. To be simply a watcher. You see the powers not as a gift to be better, but as an eternal remind of your mistakes. Mistakes you can never run from."

"Stop…" Castigar said, his and Jaune's voice intermingling together, like two snakes wrapping around each other.

"You're trying to run from your mistakes, but the only thing you can do is face them!"

"Stop it…"

"Move forward, learning from your mistakes!"

"The only mistakes we made was letting it go too far! The rules were unjust and unfair, and everyone was fine with it! Well not me! I refuse to let myself be disrespected like that!" Jaune spat out, Castigar's voice retreating in silence as the flames surrounding him rose in equal measure.. "I… I refuse to let anyone be disrespected like that…" He added, his voice going soft, losing it's anger as the flames died, yet the sword stayed ablaze. His grip loosened on the blade and spear and they fell to the ground, the flames quickly fading into the soon cold blade. He fell to his knees.

"It's okay…" Xìngzhì said, slowly walking forward. "I know how it feels-"

"Know how it feels?" Jaune interrupted, Castigar's voice creeping back in as he glared. "You sat idly on the sidelines, you know nothing of how I feel!"

"They were my brothers and sisters too!"

"And you didn't have to take their lives!" He yelled out, his hand grasping the hilt of the sword, quickly swiping out towards Xìngzhì, causing her to fall backwards. At the touch of him, bright flames engulfed the blade, but it quickly turned black, corrupted by the power of Castigar.

Ruby quickly unfurled her weapon, it's blade segmented as it curved to create one long, curved blade, a long shaft rolled out into its hilt, all of it coming together to create a red and black scythe that was two times the size of her. Crescent Rose. As Jaune swiped at Xìngzhì once more, Ruby swiftly using her semblance to seemingly disappear into rose petals which shot forward, and Ruby reappeared in front of her Grandmother, using her scythe to parry the blade. Jaune growled at that.

"You defend a coward, and a weakling. Why?" He questioned.

"This isn't like you Jaune, This isn't who you are!" Ruby rebutted. He scowled deeper.

"You know nothing of what I am." He lowly growled out before swinging the blade down at her as she quickly swiped it away.

"You're not a murderer Jaune!" Ruby argued, parrying another slash as she did so.

"That is exactly what I am!" He shouted, slashed relentlessly. Out of the corner of her eye, Ruby saw a flash of movement and before she could look, the cat had leaped forward, landing on Jaune's face and as he backed up in shock, he reached up and pulled the cat off just in time to see the blunt side of Crescent Rose hit him in the face. Unable to raise his aura in time, he took the full brunt of it. Or at least it would have if it weren't for him being a god. What she had expected was for Jaune to Fall unconscious.

That didn't happen.

As the blunt of Crescent Rose swung towards him, her eyes began to shine, shine brighter than ever before. Not with joy or anger, or pain, no, nothing as meager as that. This time…

They shined silver light. The power of gods dripping out the sides of her eyes as she screamed.

Jaune stumbled back but out his back fell black smog and fire in the shape of a human with blood red eyes. It fell back as the light from her shone onto it as it struggled to not be dashed away. Jaune stumbled but a moment before Xìngzhì went forward and caught him, keeping him steady.

Ruby kept screaming, still releasing energy from unknown reserves and the humanoid of ash and black fire faded and fizzled out as the dome faded and, although unbeknownst to them at the time. The hallucinations faded too. Yang was herself again, Ozmar was Ozpin again, they were all themselves. And those who suffered, forgot that they had suffered. The mind of those who are ignorant work in fascinating ways, and those who wouldn't believe, who couldn't believe, simply forgot, erasing it from their minds as one does ink from a whiteboard, with nothing left but the pristine white from before.

The bright light leaking from Ruby's eyes, the same way you could call a dam breaking and destroying a town in it's wave of water a leak, started to fade and fade until it was gone. The humanoid being was naught but a small flame of black, flickering like a dying match. Jaune looked at it with the others in silence before raising his hand towards it. It slowly came towards him and as he slowly twisted his hand towards himself, the flame came to rest at the tip of his finger, gaining steadiness in it's flame, just a bit. Slowly, he brought it to his chest, the way one does when trying to fix a shattered mug.

"Wh-... What happened?" Asked Ruby as she panted.

"I'll tell you after. Go." Jaune said, gesturing her to run. "Find the one who is to be your partner. Besides, I need to talk with my sister."

"I mean technically, you're my partn-"

"Ozpin and Glynda are likely already recovering, and I've been chosen already." He said, gesturing to the spear in the grass. "Go, quickly!" Ruby paused for a moment before running off, out of the clearing. Jaune smiled and turned towards the cat that had jumped onto his face. "Well, this is where you ran off to Al?" He asked with a bit of a smirk. The cat shrugged simply with a small meow accompanying it. With a smile, he kneeled down. "Well, I'm glad you did that. Now, you want to join me? What happened here was… an accident." The cat meowed again at him. Marchand simply smiled and shrugged. "What can I say? I'm still learning." The cat was silent for a moment or two before meowing once more and running up Marchand's arm to find purchase on his shoulder. Marchand turned to Xìngzhì and tilted his head.

"What're you doing here?" Marchand asked.

"What, I can't visit my brother?" Xìngzhì asked with a smile. Marchand looked at her for a moment or two, straight faced, when a small smile crept up onto his face.

"I guess you can. I'm a little busy at the moment though. Did you need something?"

"Not everyone wants something from you." She said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Marchand laughed dryly.

"Yeah…" He said, not really believing it. "Listen, i'll talk to you later, get everything out, with Ruby." He said, Xìngzhì nodding along. She turned back towards the edge and stopped for a moment. She looked back at him with an earnest smile.

"Glad to have you back M. I love you." She said with a smile before running towards the edge of a clearing, and with a jump, she began to morph into a small red bird, a cardinal, quickly fluttering away. Marchand smiled softly and sighed.

"Love you too…" He said quietly to himself.

He went back to the tree and sat down against it, staring at the blade in front of him. He was quiet as he watched it lay in silence, staring at him. It begged him to pick up the blade again, to use it for what it was for. To be his weapon. His true weapon. A blade for him. Reaching forward, he grabbed the hilt and lifted it up. At his touch, it's blade burst into holy flame. He stared at it for a moment before divine essence flowed through him, as the blade faded from this plane, locked away once more, his own power being it's lock and key.

"Never again…" He promised himself once again, grabbing his cane before he leaned back against the tree and waited for his partner to show up.

 ** _~~~~~~Line~~~~~~_**

 **Holy Fuck, it's been a while hasn't it? Sorry for the wait, just been busy. I'm planning on working on a set schedule for this but knowing my luck, that won't happen. Anyway, I love all of you my darlings, have a wonderful day!**


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